Tesla Remotely Extended Range Of Its Cars To Help Owners Escape Irma

Hurricane Irma, at this very moment, is literally slamming into Florida. It already brought massive devastation to parts of Cuba and other island in the area. Millions of residents of Florida were ordered to evacuate and head north. Not surprisingly, there were huge traffic jams and a shortage of gasoline. Tesla was aware that it has a lot of customers in Florida, who utilized the Supercharging network to aid in their getaway, but the EV automaker wanted to do more. So it did.

According to Electrek, Tesla remotely unlocked the full battery pack capacity of the Model S/Model X 60 and 60D equipped with the 75 kWh battery pack, providing them with an extra 30 to 40 miles of range. That can make a big difference when escaping a hurricane. If you recall, Tesla used to have an option so that buyers could purchase a Model S or Model X with a 75 kWh battery pack, but its software was limited to a capacity of 60 kWh. This made the vehicles less expensive but they also had shorter range. It was a tradeoff for sure, but those owners did have the option to remotely pay for longer range at a later date. But Hurricane Irma, to say the least, was an emergency.

Tesla didn’t even respond to owners’ request to extend their cars’ range; the carmaker decided to do this entirely on its own. Yes, this was a temporary upgrade, but it was also an emergency. And for the record, the cost of upgrading those specific Teslas normally costs between $4,500 to $9,000, depending on a few factors. For Tesla, saving lives is more important than profit.